This invention relates to improvements in friction clutch driven plates.
It concerns, though not exclusively, development of the friction clutch driven plate described in published British patent specification No. GB 2 154 288 A which discloses a driven plate comprising a hub assembly incorporating a hub and at least one flange extending therefrom, a carrier for a friction material arrangement, said carrier being arranged adjacent to the flange and capable of limited relative angular rotation with respect to said flange and coupled to the flange by resilient rotary drive means, the carrier being provided with outwardly extending teeth around the outer periphery, and a friction material arrangement in annular disposition and having inwardly directed teeth to engage with teeth on the carrier and provide drive between the carrier and friction material.
Specification No. GB 2154 288 A discloses a friction material arrangement in the form of a solid ring of friction material capable of some axial movement relative to the carrier by the teeth on the ring moving axially in the gaps between the teeth on the carrier. This allows the friction material some axial compliance when the driven plate is in use and being clamped between a drive plate and a pressure plate of a friction clutch. However the solid ring of friction material may be rather rigid and its axial compliance thus restricted, so the phenomenon known as "heat spotting" of the pressure plate may still occur to an undesirable extent.
An object of the invention is to provide a friction clutch driven plate capable of being constructed so that when it is used the aforesaid disadvantage of heat spotting may be avoided or at least mitigated.